Aaron Judge smashed his 33rd home run, his first RBI in more than a week, helping the New York Yankees win the first game of their series against the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles with a 4-1 victory on Friday night.
Tensions rose in the bottom of the ninth inning when Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad was hit near the ear flap of his helmet by a pitch from Clay Holmes, leading to benches clearing and some pushing and shoving.
Gerrit Cole pitched six strong innings for the Yankees, who now trail the Orioles by just one game in the division standings. Baltimore has lost four consecutive games.
This series marked the first meeting between the two teams since the Orioles won two out of three games in New York last month. Since then, the Yankees have struggled with a record of 6-13, while the Orioles are 8-12. This has allowed the Boston Red Sox to narrow the gap to 5 1/2 games behind the division leaders.
Cole allowed one run on five hits and threw 106 pitches in his longest outing since returning from elbow issues in mid-June.
“I was able to hit my spots better tonight,” Cole remarked. “My fastball location was effective against both left-handers and right-handers.”
Three relievers finished the game, with Holmes pitching a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 21st save of the season in 26 opportunities.
The game took a tense turn when Holmes’ pitch struck Kjerstad. After a delay, Kjerstad left the game, and Orioles manager Brandon Hyde exchanged words with the Yankees dugout, resulting in his ejection.
“I hope Heston’s okay. No one wants to see that,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone commented. “It was an emotional moment with both teams competing hard. I’m glad it didn’t escalate further.”
